Cris Collinsworth '91 to Give Featured Address at 176th Hooding

Cincinnati, OH—University of Cincinnati College of Law alumnus, sports commentator, Cincinnati Bengal wide receiver, and Emmy Award winner Anthony Cris Collinsworth ’91 will address students at the College of Law’s 176th Hooding Ceremony, May 10, 2009. The ceremony will be held at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, beginning at 1:00 p.m. until 2:45 p.m. Approximately 111 students will graduate this year.

This year’s Hooding Ceremony, presided over by Dean Louis D. Bilionis, will feature alumnae Bridget Gannon McGraw ’03 as the recipient of the Nicholas Longworth III Alumni Achievement Award, and Professors Margaret B. Drew, Darrell A.H. Miller, and Thomas D. Eisele as the recipients of the Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching Award. The Longworth Award recognizes law school graduates for their outstanding contributions to society; the Goldman Prize is awarded to law school professors and is based on their research and public service as they contribute to superior performance in the classroom.

A legend on the field and in the booth

A sports legend on and off the field, Collinsworth is a native of the tri-state—born in nearby Dayton, OH. Reared in Titusville, Florida, he attended college at the University of Florida, where he was ranked as an All-American and Academic All-American. Drafted by the Bengals in 1981, he enjoyed one of the most memorable receiving careers in history during his years with the Bengals, playing in two Super Bowl and three Pro Bowl games. Career highlights include playing 107 games, catching 417 passes for 6,698 yards, and making 36 touchdowns. He also had four 1,000 yard seasons.

When Collinsworth retired from the NFL in 1989, he moved into the broadcasting arena, beginning his career as a sports radio talk show host on Cincinnati station WLW. He later became a reporter and studio cast member for HBO’s Inside the NFL. In 1990, he became a game analysts for NBC Sports’ NFL coverage before taking a year off to complete his law degree. Collinsworth moved to the Fox NFL Sunday pre-game show in 1998 and became a member of the network’s lead game broadcasting crew in 2002.

Widely respected as a football broadcaster, Collinsworth has won eight Emmy Awards, including a record seven as Outstanding Sports Studio Analyst, and is the most honored studio analyst in sports television. During the football season he can be seen on three networks: co-host of Showtime program Inside the NFL, studio analyst and co-host for NBC Sports Sunday Night Football, and game analyst for the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football. Last year he also served as a correspondent for NBC Sports coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics. In April 2009 NBC announced that Collinsworth replaced sports icon John Madden as analyst for NBC’s National Football League broadcasts.

On the business side, Collinsworth has worked with Cincinnati healthcare company ProScan, founding the Cris Collinsworth ProScan Foundation. This organizations helps fund the Pink Ribbon Center in Over-the-Rhine, which provides mammograms to low-income women.

Governor Ted Strickland has appointed UC Law’s Marianna Brown Bettman to the Ohio Judicial Appointments Recommendation Panel. Professor Bettman will serve as chair of one of the two recommendation panels.

The Ohio Judicial Appointments Recommendation Panel evaluates the qualifications of applicants for judicial vacancies and then makes non-binding recommendations to the Governor for appointment based on their evaluations.

Professor Bettman has served as a professor of clinical law at the University of Cincinnati since 1999. She had previously served as a judge for the Ohio First District Court of Appeals from 1993-1999. Bettman also writes a monthly newspaper column, Legally Speaking, which appears in the American Israelite and the Cincinnati Herald. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1966 and her law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1977.

Professor Joseph Biancalana Retires from UC Law

One of academia’s leading scholars of English legal history and long-time University of Cincinnati College of Law professor, Joseph Biancalana, announced his retirement effective this fall.

“The College of Law’s annals include more than a few iconic professors – long and vividly remembered across generations,” said UC Law Dean Louis Bilionis. “Joseph Biancalana will be among them. Our alumni consistently remember him with affection and high praise for his command of the law, his commitment to rigorous scholarly inquiry, his consummate practice of the Socratic method in the classroom, and his enormous passion for teaching.”

Professor Biancalana received his JD from Harvard Law School, after receiving his BA from Lake Forest College and his MA in English Literature from Harvard University. It was at Harvard that he developed his love of English legal history. “While in college and graduate school I took several seminar courses in [English legal history],” he said. “Then, I was hooked.”

After graduating from law school, he worked as an associate at Herrick & Smith in Boston (Mass.) for four years. He then was awarded a Bigelow Teaching Fellowship from the University of Chicago Law School, where he taught for one year before joining the faculty at UC Law in 1983.

For over 25 years Professor Biancalana taught numerous classes and hundreds of law students. Many benefited from his teaching in courses such as Constitutional Law I and II, Corporations I, Property, Wills and Trusts, and, of course, English legal history. Gail King Gibson ’90 spoke about Professor Biancalana for the law school’s Anniversary Memory Project. “Property with [Professor] Biancalana was very interesting…It was clear that he was very intelligent. He was leaps and bounds ahead of the class.”

When asked what drew him to teaching, Biancalana laughed and said, “English legal history. Teaching was one of the few ways I could continue to delve into this subject!” He continued, “I will miss interacting with the students, however. And I will definitely miss being able to continue learning in classes such as the graduate-level Fiction Writing Workshop I took last school year at the university.” Biancalana admitted to enjoying being a teacher and a student, as over the years he had taken numerous classes to continue to hone his skills.

The author of numerous articles, books, essays, and papers, his work has been published in legal journals including the Cambridge Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, American Historical Review, and the Oxford Encyclopedia of Legal History. Commented Dr. Paul Brand of All Souls College, Oxford, concerning his work, [it is] “notable both for its mastery of the relevant sources and its ability to tackle the major questions of English medieval legal history in a new and interesting way.” His book, The Fee Tail and the Common Recovery in Medieval England 1176-1502 (Cambridge University Press, 2001), is considered a work of major and lasting importance in the field. To that point, Professor Biancalana has twice won the prestigious Sutherland Prize from the American Society for Legal History, an award given to the best article published in English legal history in the preceding year. Additionally, he was commissioned to author the volume in the Oxford History of the Laws of England that will cover the fifteenth century, contributing alongside some of the best English legal historians known today. Noted Sir John Baker, Downing Professor of the Laws of England at the University of Cambridge, a professor “cannot now teach English legal history without reference to [Professor Biancalana’s] work.”

A well-respected educator, Professor Biancalana also has a reputation for constructing challenging and stimulating discussions both outside and inside the classroom. “Talking with Joseph could be a challenge, sometimes even a frustration,” said his colleague Thomas Eisele, Professor of Law. “His insistence on clear thought and precise expression (as well as coming up with ideas that were more than platitudes) superseded the ordinary customs of friendship, or collegiality. This could be off-putting. But, to be sure, engaging with Joseph's agile mind also was highly rewarding, for anyone willing to submit to such rigorous demands. Joseph's ability to be unsettling in a good sense proved, in my experience, of real and lasting benefit. In the best tradition of law school curmudgeons, he is a latter-day Socratic gad-fly.”

Inside the classroom alumni and students consistently remember him with affection and the highest praise for his command of the law and passion for teaching. “We are very grateful to [Professor Biancalana] for the impact he had on our curriculum and our students. In fact, he was one of my favorite professors when I was lucky to be in his Property class during my days as a student at the College of Law,” said Nancy Oliver ’90, Associate Dean for Curriculum and Student Affairs at the College of Law.

What has been the result of his efforts? He has been awarded several commendations from the law school community. He is a two-time winner of the Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching. This award, given by UC law students, recognizes professors who distinguish themselves in the classroom. Wrote former law school dean Tom Gerety in a Goldman Prize announcement letter, “Professor Joseph Biancalana approaches his material with an electrifying intensity, and his excitement is oftentimes contagious. He pushes students beyond their black letter law by questioning every rule. Thus, he encourages critical, as well as analytic, thinking about the subject matter.” Finally, Biancalana is also a recipient of the Harold C. Schott Scholarship Award, which recognizes outstanding research and scholarly achievement by a faculty member.

This fall Professor Biancalana will be moving to Cambridge (Mass.) where he plans to pursue various writing projects, read and research articles, and “explore and enjoy beautiful New England.” The law school community will miss him.

Professor Paul Caron Quoted in Washington Post

Professor Paul Caron, Associate Dean of Faculty and Charles Hartsock Professor of Law, spoke to the Washington Post about the tax challenges families can face after participating in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition shows. According to the article, several families who have participated in the show have struggled to keep up with the increased taxes resulting from the major improvements of their homes. The production company advises families to consult a financial planner for guidance and leases the home from them during the construction week. They note that a special provision in the tax law allows income tax to be waived on rentals of less than 15 days. However, cautioned Caron, this may not necessarily be enough. (Read more)

Paul Caron Named One of 100 Most Influential People in Tax and Accounting...Again!

The list of the most influential people in tax and accounting includes some big names: President Barack Obama, Senator Max Baucus, SEC Chairperson Mary Schapiro…and UC law professor Paul Caron. Accounting Today magazine, the leading journal of the profession, has just released its 2009 report of the biggest movers and shakers in the accounting profession. For the fourth time in a row Professor Caron has been named to this impressive list. Caron, Associate Dean of Faculty and the Charles Hartsock Professor of Law at the College of Law, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of the TaxProf Blog, the leading tax blog on the internet with over 10 million page views since its creation in 2004.

The list also includes government officials, CEOs of major accounting firms, CEOs of tax and accounting companies and publishers, and government and industry officials. (Read more about this story)

College of Law Bar Exam Results Are Strong

The results for the University of Cincinnati College of Law students who took the July 2009 Ohio Bar Exam are in and the College of Law led the state for overall test takers. While the passage rate for all takers was 81.3 percent, the College of Law’s passage rate was 89 percent.

The passage rate for the College of Law’s first-time test takers was 91 percent, compared to an 87.8 percent passage rate for all first-time test takers in Ohio. This score puts the law school third among Ohio law schools.

Ohio is among the top three jurisdictions in which our graduates practice. The 2009 class fared equally well on the New York and Illinois bar exams.

Applicants who have successfully passed the examination and who have satisfied all of the Supreme Court’s other requirements for admission were sworn in on November 9 during a special session of the Supreme Court at the historic Ohio Theatre.

Professor Jacob Katz Cogan Receives Prestigious Award from American Society of International Law

Professor Jacob Katz Cogan Receives Prestigious Award
from American Society of International Law

In the article Cogan writes: “Nothing is more fundamental to a constitutional system than the techniques it adopts and employs for the selection of its governmental decision makers, be they executive, legislative, or judicial officials. Methods of representation can be based on a variety of principles and can be codified by various techniques. The international system possesses a plethora of possible principles, none completely dominant — those that treat all states the same and gives them each an equal vote; those that treat states or groups of states differently and allocate representation based on a distinctive characteristic or interest; and those that give priority to region and divide positions accordingly. There is also a wide array of possible forms for implementing those principles that differ in their formality and degree of entrenchment. In the post-War era, an operational constitution of representation developed in which formal and informal arrangements were utilized to reconcile the conflicting principles and interests in play. Today, this operational regime is under stress: assailed as unreflective of contemporary power dynamics and criticized by those who would do away with informality and preferences altogether. These critiques are moves to create an international system that functions on radically different terms from the one that has existed for the past sixty years.” He concludes the article with a discussion of the future of the operational constitution in light of these challenges.

What is the Francis Deák Prize?

The Francis Deák Prize is awarded annually to a younger author for meritorious scholarship published in The American Journal of International Law. The prize was established by Philip Cohen in 1973, in memory of Francis Deák, former head of the international law program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and editor of American International Law Cases, 1783-1963. The award, sponsored by Oxford University Press, is made in the spring following the volume year in which the article appeared.

Challenging. Engaging. Uncanny. Committed. These adjectives describe the 2010 Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching recipients. All have demonstrated their commitment to students and unrelenting support of the College of Law. Congratulations to this year’s recipients: Marjorie Corman Aaron, Kristin Kalsem, and Darrel A.H. Miller.

Professor Marjorie Corman Aaron. Law professors should be familiar with their curriculum teaching assignments. In this respect, there are few instructors who can rival the combination of real-world, clinical, and academic experiences that Marjorie Corman Aaron brings to the classroom. In each of her courses, Professor Aaron passes this rich and broad range of knowledge to her students.

This year’s Goldman Prize committee, however, took these qualities as a given. Since 1998, Professor Aaron has been continually growing and improving a lackluster and unpopular part of the curriculum to make it an accessible, enjoyable, and practical gem among dry, bar-prep, and substantive courses. Her stature in her field and dedication to bringing this to the College of Law has become a staple to this institution.

Instead, our committee focused on a different quality highlighted by the student nominations: an ability to look beyond the curriculum. Put differently, Professor Aaron is not bound by her teaching assignments; instead, the students and her experience about what skills are integral to a successful legal career dictate her every semester at the College of Law.

Professor Aaron maintains a persona that truly invites and encourages students to seek her advice. Whether that means inviting and open in-class discussions, questions after class, personal questions, or individual research oversight, she has demonstrated willingness—and, in fact, pleasure—to go well-above and beyond in-class and office hour requirements to meet her students’ needs.

In her own right, Professor Aaron blazed paths for students interested in Trial Advocacy, Mediation, and Negotiation. She is simply never satisfied with the status quo, and continues to prod students to see the other half of the legal world: practice. It is a world that looms large over the students at the College of Law, but would be largely left unaddressed if not for Professor Aaron’s sincere and remarkable efforts.

This award could be given to Professor Aaron for her undeniable talents and contributions at the College of Law in her areas of expertise. This year’s committee, however, recognizes her extraordinary ability to teach students at the College of Law beyond the ordinary bounds. It is our pleasure to honor Marjorie Corman Aaron with a 2010 Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

Professor Darrell A.H. Miller. It is not uncommon to hear first-year law students complaining about Civil Procedure. The fault here is perhaps inherent in the subject matter of Civil Procedure. Civil Procedure can sometimes seem disconnected from the world that exists outside the practice of law, and some of its rules appear pointless or silly. For instance, a rule might require that litigants use a red cover for a particular motion instead of a blue cover. Many students are prompted to inquire: “Why does this matter?” These students would rather learn about the facts of a lawsuit wherein a tortfeasor has accidentally caused a series of injuries to various victims; these students are less interested in learning about how long the victims have to file their lawsuit. Simply put, students often struggle to develop any passion for the study of Civil Procedure.

Yet, here at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, we have living proof that Civil Procedure can be an interesting subject that inspires passion. Professor Miller forthrightly illustrates this passion on an almost daily basis, when he teaches Civil Procedure. In his Civil Procedure classes, as well as his other classes, Professor Miller shows a fiery intensity that engages his students in the subject matter. When Professor Miller is at his best, his students may forget they are even in a classroom. Instead, they may feel they are watching a seasoned litigator deliver his closing argument in an important case. Professor Miller paces in the front of the room and, sometimes, he will punctuate a statement by emphatically slapping the podium. He does not hide his emotion, whether it is anger or humor or shock. Taken together, these techniques draw Professor Miller’s audience, his students, into the material.

However, these statements may seem to suggest that Professor Miller only lectures to his classes. This is not the case. Professor Miller also draws generously upon the Socratic Method to ensure that all his students are fully engaged. In addition, he uses entertaining hypotheticals to clarify arcane concepts and to setup further class discussion. In one recurring hypothetical, the plaintiff is trying to sue a minister for “wrongful marriage,” because the minister has married the plaintiff’s daughter to an “unfit” husband. Even when the class period has ended, Professor Miller continues his mission of educating students here at the Cincinnati College of Law. After class, Professor Miller is often seen answering student questions, and he participates in out-of-class lectures. Even when he has retreated to his office, his office door is always open.

Professor Miller is also known for his practical assignments. In Civil Procedure, students must write interrogatories and requests for admissions. In Civil Rights Litigation, Professor Miller divides his class into mini law firms, and the students become first year associates who research legal issues and write memoranda. These assignments are an invaluable opportunity to gain practical experience.

In sum, Professor Miller has successfully strived to be a model teacher, and he has cultivated the skills and qualities that earn him his second Goldman Prize in only his third year of teaching. The Cincinnati College of Law is lucky to have such a passionate educator on its faculty.

Professor Kristin Kalsem. Respectful, extremely intelligent, highly personable, and cutting edge—just a few of the words used by students to describe Professor Kristin Kalsem, one of this year’s recipients of the 2010 Goldman Prize for Teaching. Not many law students are overly eager to learn the intricacies of secured transactions or bankruptcy, yet these two courses happen to be very popular at the College of Law—precisely because Professor Kalsem teaches them. Impeccably organized, always enthusiastic, and often willing to put extra time and energy into making sure that her students are prepared, Professor Kalsem embodies what the Goldman Prize stands for—excellence in teaching.

Inside of the classroom, Professor Kalsem is most known for her exceptional intelligence, her perfectly organized presentations, and her respect for her students. Professor Kalsem’s command of the subject matter she teaches is extraordinary, yet, the way she is able to convey the subject matter to her students is what makes her an incredible teacher. Through PowerPoint slides and discussion, Professor molds otherwise complicated and convoluted principles into more easily decipherable, manageable material. Though she employs the Socratic method, she groups her students into threes, allowing them to answer the questions they know and rely on their group members for questions to which they aren’t sure of the answers. No student ever feels embarrassed or frightened, yet all are extremely prepared for each class, having studied with their group members and not wanting to let these members down come class time. Professor Kalsem has found and employed an innovative way to capture the best of both worlds.

Already having established herself at the College of Law as a well-respected and well-liked professor in the areas of secured transactions and bankruptcy, the diversity of Professor Kalsem’s teaching skills became evident this year when she taught a special reading group course devoted to the writings of Professor Carol Sanger, a well-read feminist writer and professor who has been an inspiration to Professor Kalsem. Shying away from her famous PowerPoint slides and structured way of teaching, Professor Kalsem knew that for the class to be successful, her students needed to feel comfortable to express their thoughts and ideas about Ms. Sanger’s articles. To make sure of this, she made them feel at home—by inviting them into her own home. Even without her PowerPoint slides, she was a brilliant educator, creating lively discussions, respecting the viewpoints of her students, and providing an atmosphere in which conversation flourished. As Ms. Sanger is an inspiration to Professor Kalsem, Professor Kalsem is an inspiration to her students.

The students at the College of Law are lucky to have such an extraordinary teacher as Professor Kalsem. It is because of the overwhelming respect that these students have for her that she has earned this award. With great pleasure, we honor Professor Kalsem with a 2010 Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

About the Goldman Prize for Teaching Excellence

The Goldman Prize has been awarded for over 30 years to recognize excellence in teaching. This award is unique because students nominate and choose the recipients—their professors. To make this decision, the committee also considers the professors’ research and public service as they contribute to superior performance in the classroom.

Dean Mina Jefferson Appointed to NALP Commission on Recruiting

Dean Mina Jefferson Appointed to NALP Commission on Recruiting
Mina Jones Jefferson, Assistant Dean and Director of the Center for Professional Development, has been appointed to serve on the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) Commission on Recruiting in the Legal Profession. The commission is charged with reviewing the current legal recruitment model, and engaging in a holistic nationwide dialogue regarding recruiting issues. Some of the current issues under discussion include the timing of 2L/3L interviewing and the viability and effects of a potential change to the interviewing timeframe on large firm recruiting as well as on government, public interest and small/media firm recruiting. Dean Jefferson will be serving on the commission with professional colleagues from Harvard, Boalt, NYU, Chicago, and Georgetown.

She also appears in the April 2010 issue of the ABA Journal in an article about the On Campus Interview guidelines, which are the subject of national debate.

See the complete list of commission participants:

Commission on Recruiting in the Legal Profession2010-2011Employer Members

Paul Woo
Director of Career Services
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LAW SCHOOL
Chicago, IL

Marcelyn R. Cox
Assistant Dean, Career Development
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF LAW
Coral Gables, FL

Goldfarb Editorials Discuss Correlation between Business and Economic Success and Obama’s Impact on Ohio’s Economy

Professor Lewis Goldfarb’s recent editorials for the International Business Times and the USNews & World Report answer the questions of whether a business background positivelycorrelates with economic growth and whether President Obama’s policies had any impact onOhio’s economy.

As one of the authors of the recently published book Bulls Bears and the Ballot Box: How thePerformance of Our Presidents Has Impacted Your Wallet, Goldfarb and co-author Bob Deitrickcompiled and analyzed economic data from numerous traditional, trusted sources, examining80 years of presidential history, ranking the economic performance of the presidents and theirrespective parties

In his editorial “Romney’s Business Experience is No Reason to Elect Him President” for the USNews & World Report, Goldfarb contends that despite the political rhetoric and a recent WallStreet Journal/NBC News poll showing that six in 10 American believe Republican Presidential-Nominee Mitt Romney’s business success gives him an edge over President Obama in improvingthe economy, history tells a different story. Says Goldfarb, “No matter how you slice and dicethis data, it is clear that a negative correlation exists between presidents with prior success inrunning a business and success in stewarding our nation’s economy.” He goes on to explainhow the numbers add up, using the Presidential Rankings of Economic Stewardship, or PRES,Rankings. Read the editorial in the US News and World Report: Romney’s Business Experienceis No Reason to Elect Him President

Professor Goldfarb’s editorial for the International Business Times “There is No Debate, ObamaSaved Ohio, responds to a New York Times Magazine article where the question was asked “DidBarack Obama Save Ohio?” Per Goldfarb, “…there is no debate. Based on the facts, it’s Obamawho deserves all of the credit.” He then goes on to discuss the president’s actions to help themanufacturing and auto industries when he took office and their specific impact on towns andcommunities in Ohio. Read the editorial in the International Business Times: There is NoDebate, Obama Saved Ohio

Professor Goldfarb, a CPA and author, is the director of the Entrepreneurship and CommunityDevelopment Clinic at the College of Law.